Author: Richard Newby

Eventually, we may run out of great things to say about A24. Today, however, we’re gushing about the trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos’ horror film, The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Lanthimos’ who thrilled and challenged us with The Lobster, looks like he’s venturing into even darker territory as he reteams with Colin Farrell for tale of a surgeon who’s relationship with a dysfunctional family has horrific results. Every shot in this trailer is a thing of exquisite framing and Raffey Cassidy’s cover of Ellie Goulding’s shifts from innocence to eerieness as the trailer progresses. Whatever mysteries lie at the...

It’s A24’s world and we’re just living in it. Sean Baker crafted an empathetic look at the life of a transgender working girl in Tangerine, and now he moves from L.A. to Florida with another look at America’s often underseen and disenfranchised. Awash in pastel colors, golden sunsets, and characters we’re already falling in love with, there’s little doubt that The Florida Project will be one of the year’s best films. The Florida Project will be released on October 6th. Featured Image:...

Originally published August 13, 2015. Overview: The daughter of a convicted Nazi emissary is enlisted by an American agent to spy on a Nazi cabal in Rio de Janeiro. RKO Radio Pictures; 1946; Not Rated; 101 minutes. The Spy Who Loved Me: Alfred Hitchcock’s classic espionage story is often cited as the film that marked a shift in the director’s career, a move towards the deeper, more emotionally resonant character work that defined his most popular films. If there was anything “inessential” about Hitchcock’s films preceding 1946, the cast of Notorious made the film an indispensable example of his...

Originally published on August 4, 2017. The Transfiguration is now available on Amazon Prime’s streaming service. Overview: A black teenager with an irresistible urge and a fascination with vampires meets a troubled girl who changes his self-perspective. Strand Releasing; 2017; NR; 97 minutes. Lost Boy: When we first meet Milo (Eric Ruffin) he’s sucking blood out of a dead man’s neck in a subway bathroom stall. It’s a grisly first encounter that quickly forfeits any notion that this film will toy with the with ‘is he or isn’t he a vampire?’ Milo believes he’s a vampire, and that’s what...

Originally published on May 13, 2015. Faults is now available on Amazon Prime’s streaming service. Overview: A financially strapped cult expert is hired to deprogram a young woman, but he soon finds himself in new territory when her beliefs prove far more dangerous than he suspected. 2014; Screen Media Films; NR; 89 minutes. Indoctrination: A large part of what makes Faults such a unique look at cult behavior is screenwriter/director Riley Stearns’ delicate tonal balance. Advertised as a film from the producers of The Guest, Faults has a similar multi-genre feel, though I think the transitions between genres in...

Originally published April 5, 2017. The Devil’s Candy is now available on Netflix Instant streaming. Overview: A heavy-metal loving painter and his family move into a house that promises tranquility and inspiration, but offers so much more when the hellish visions begin and the previous occupant comes knocking. IFC Midnight; 2017; Not Rated; 79 minutes. Moth into Flame: Horror iconography has always been a staple of heavy metal, and in turn much of contemporary horror has become infused with heavy metal through soundtrack and aesthetic. Metal has been used as a doorway to satanic forces, playing on the fears...

Here’s the new the trailer for the horror event of the year, IT! Hot damn! This is going to blow up at the box office! This trailer perfectly captures the tone and terror of King’s novel, in a way that we so infrequently see. We know the 1990 miniseries has its fans and merits, but this, for lack of a better term, is IT!. Featured Image: Warner Bros. Pictures ...

Here’s a new look at Taika Waititi’s highly anticipated, Thor: Ragnarok! And here’s the new poster: Visually, this looks like some of Marvel’s best work! And the trailer music, if that is Mark Mothersbaugh’s score we’re hearing, could be one of the film’s biggest highlights. While I don’t think the two previous Thor films have managed to strike the right tone, Waititi is certainly the guy who could bring genuine humor and stakes together for the best Thor movie yet. Oh, and we get a brief glimpse at the Fenris Wolf and Surtur in the trailer, hinting at some...

Here’s the cryptic new teaser for Westworld season 2! Westworld may just have my favorite first season of any television series ever, and if season 2 can maintain that carefully plotted momentum and structure, we will be in for the quite the wild ride through the west. Deatails are scarce at the moment, but Westworld season 2 will preimire on HBO sometime in 2018. Featured Image:...

The gang’s all here in the first full trailer for Stranger Things season 2. Stranger Things was one of last year’s biggest surprise hits, and now that it’s become a full on sensation, we expected the second season to go to even darker, and stranger places. The Hawkins gang are said to face a different kind of horror than the Demogorgan from last year, though it looks like Will might still be one facing the greatest hardships. We’ve also heard that we’re going to get a lot more information about Eleven’s backstory, and we’ve got a feeling it will...

Here’s our second look at Zack Snyder’s Justice League! Yes! It looks awesome, it looks like the tonal evolution that was promised since before BvS, and it looks like a Zack Snyder film. Hopefully that’s enough to quell the naysayers, but if not? Who cares? We’re getting red skies, New Gods, hints at Green Lanterns, and the Justice League all together in the DC event fans have waited decades to see! This is really going to be something. And here’s the gorgeous new poster, which channels Alex Ross’ work on Kingdom Come. The Justice League comes together on...

Steven Spielberg returns to the realm of science-fiction with his adaptation of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One!’ This looks very cool! And who better to handle “the Holy Grail of Pop Culture” than the guy responsible for so much of it, Steven Spielberg? There’s definitley some shots that look reminscent, aesthetically, to A.I. and in terms of mo-cap, you can also see some of what Spielberg learned on The B.F.G being continued here. It’s great that at 70, Spielberg is still learning and putting out works that we would typically assume were a younger filmmaker’s property if we didn’t...

Netflix has released the trailer for their latest upcoming series, Marvel’s The Defenders! SDCC attendees got to see the first 2 episodes of The Defenders, but this trailer should be enough to hold the rest of us until the series’ 8 episodes are released on August 18th, 2017. Overall, Netflix has a done a pretty great job with their Marvel shows and seeing all the street heroes come together for an Avengers-style team up will certainly be one of this year’s television events. With Luke Cage and Jessica Jones season 2 underway with filming, The Punisher set for release...

Netflix is kicking down more doors with David Ayer’s Bright. Yeah, it looks weird and a bit corny but we’re into weird and can a bit of corny if the emotional pay off is there. If David Ayer has proven anything it’s that he can do cop thrillers. The fantasy angle is just a plus, and hopefully it allows him to tap into more genre films in the future without studio restrictions. Netflix could be a new home for some our more offbeat directors and future cult classics, and we’re all for it. A Netflix movie that stars Will...

Here’s the first trailer for the long-gestating Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel, Leatherface. Another Texas Chainsaw Massacre entry is enough to give anyone pause. After all, the previous prequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) wasn’t a great followup to the surprisingly good remake, and Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)…well, it’s better if we don’t talk about it. But this latest installment, directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (Inside) looks like a carefully crafted carnage fest. We’re sure it won’t come close to Hooper’s original, but maybe, just maybe, it could be the best Chainsaw Massacre film since 1974. Leatherface...